The Aftermath of a Loss
by Dogofthemilitary
Summary: Takes place right AFTER the new Harry Potter book! Please don't read if you don't want SPOILERS! It is about George mostly. Please review! Thanks! Rated K


SPOILERS AHEAD! PLEASE DON'T READ IF YOU DON'T WANT SOME SEVENTH BOOK SPOILERS!

This takes place after the epilogue. I do not own any of the characters blah blah blah. PLEASE do review for they make me happy and I like to be happy! Hehehe, thanks!

Lily was upset she couldn't go to Hogwarts, but at least she knew that the year would go by quickly, having time to prepare for it. Though it was always painful watching her brother, and now her other one as well, board the train, she knew of one person that always cheered her up.

"Mum?" She asked, tugging on her sleeve. Ginny turned around with a smile, a few tears made their way out of her eyes at the sight of her boys leaving.

"I want to go see Uncle George." She finished. Her mother looked up to Harry who was talking to Ron.

"Seeing as you did that last year, I don't expect it being too big a deal." She then pulled her father to the side and whispered something in it.

"Yea, we haven't been in awhile. Ron, you want to come see George with us?" Ron thought it was a good idea, but Hermione explained how she had to go grocery shopping.

"I suppose I will just go sometime soon, we write every other week or so." She then looked to her son.

"Would you like to go with your father?" The boy shook his head, clinging on to his fathers arm. Hermione laughed, giving him a kiss on the forehead. She said her farewells and then disappeared.

"Well then, I suppose we are off as well." Ron added, gripping his son's hand tightly now. Harry shook his head, his wife placing a hand on his shoulder and daughter clinging on. Ron had disappeared with Hugo already when they finally were ready to leave. As soon as they had come, they were gone.

They arrived at a rather big house, it was a nice, dark bricked with a chimney on the top. You never would have thought to see a Weasley twin in such a normal house. Ron was already at the door as Lily ran up to Hugo excitedly. As Harry and Ginny approached with their hands wrapped around each other's waist, they saw a tall lanky man with wild, shoulder length red hair appear in the doorway.

"Ron! Hugo! And is that Lily Potter as well?" He exclaimed, the two children clinging onto him. He and Ron looked at each other for a minute, and then George pulled him into a hug as well. He looked into the distance to see the Potters coming up.

"Come on in, I will get some tea started for us!" He shouted, holding the door for each one of them. When you entered his house, you would think he was obsessed with himself. Pictures littered the wall of a red headed boy, awards and trinkets stuffed everywhere on the shelves. There were article clippings of him with a bag filled with his store items, another with brief descriptions of a few of his exclusive items. Hugo and Lily bounced into one of his oversized chairs in the living room as Ginny scuttled off after her brother to help him with the tea. Harry and Ron looked at each other; they both knew what was going through their minds. Harry recalled the first time they went to his new house, Ron commented, "Looks how I would have imagined Lockhart's house to be, but less self gloating if you know what I mean." And it was true, if you had not known him like they did; you would have thought he was a narcissist. Harry knew exactly why he had it like this, and why he had let his hair grow out, and why he never even mentioned that name in nineteen years. George came walking out, Ginny following with a tray of scones and tea.

"I told you I am fine Ginny, no need to worry!" He said, looking over to Harry and Ron.

"I've been working on a new item, Ginny says it's mad but I think..."

"Nothing about becoming a temporary Werewolf could be good, what if somebody gets hurt!" It reminded the two boys of Mrs.Weasley yelling about their crazy ideas. George looked to them with what seemed to be a longing look for approval.

"I think it sounds awesome! Does it make you a real one though?" Lily's eyes were bright with the excitement from this. He looked at the little girl and laughed.

"Of course not, that would be, as you mum says, dangerous. All it does is make you grow hair at a rapid pace and give you temporary snout, claws and fangs. It is meant to scare people you know! It all vanishes after a good thirty minutes. The fun part is doing it in front to people, that's what is meant for, giving them the scare that you are transforming into one." He went on explaining, you could tell he was excited to have somebody who was interested in hearing his ideas.

"Business booming I'd imagine?" Harry asked, picking up a scone. George paused for a moment, looking at him.

"It is doing quiet well, but people are saying I need some new items. Been about…well a long time since anything too exciting made its way there." He then quickly looked back to Lily and explained more. Harry looked to Ron who knew exactly what he was thinking. He watched as the messy haired man went on for what felt like hours with his ideas. After awhile, the adults were finally able to get some time to chat about normal things, as Ginny had put it, and Hugo and Lily explored the house.

Lily quickly made her way to the basement, Hugo following after her.

"Why'd we go here?" He asked with an eyebrow raised. Lily wasn't paying too much attention, she was digging through boxes.

"Just see if you can find something good!" She was now pulling out sweaters that they could recognize as an infamous Mrs.Weasley knitted one. She threw it aside, finding yet another one. This time, she hit Hugo in the head with it. The boy was going to say something, but he noticed something strange.

"Hey, Lily?" He asked, walking over to her. Her head whipped around, hopping he found something good.

"What is it?"

"Why does this one have an F on it?" He explained, pointing to the letter. Lily sighed, shrugging it off.

"Could be another person, maybe…" Unfolding the other sweater revealed a photograph that was tangled in there. She gasped, Hugo trying to get a look.

"Look...there are TWO of George." She said pointing. Hugo nodded, looking at it better now.

"Yea, my dad said something about him having a twin, said not to mention any of that in front of him though. I think they might be on bad terms or something." Lily stared at it, the two boys were sitting under a Christmas tree with a bunch of presents unwrapped at their feet. You could see the Gryffindor ornament the size of a fist dangling right above their head.

"Should we take it to him?" She asked with a half interested, half caring smile. Hugo pressed his hand against his chin and thought.

"Well…Yea. As long as we don't say anything about twins okay?" He questioned. She shook her head and they raced up to show them.

As they entered the room, they overheard them going on about the order of the phoenix.

"Hey Uncle, we found an interesting picture in the basement!" The two children exclaimed in unison. George's eyes grew wide as Ginny gripped onto Harry's hand. Ron turned to face the wall, hiding his gaping mouth. Lily shoved the photo into his hands, not really knowing what to expect.

"Ah! I see you found an old Christmas photo, bet you didn't know I had a twin eh?" Ginny, Ron, and Hugo's face drained color as Lily stared up bright eyed. She shook her head, looking over to her parents. Harry was going to quickly change the subject when George started, "Yes, he was a brilliant one, more than me if you could imagine! He was the one filled with the majority of our ideas you see…that's why I am having a little bit of trouble coming up with new stuff…" He then pointed over to a shelf, the top having two wands propped up along with a bludger in the middle.

"That's his wand over there, put it next to mine." There was an awkward silence for a bit, until the huge clock on the wall rang.

"Oh! I forgot! I have a meeting with Lee Jordan today; he is going to help me a bit with my new item." He said looking at the time. Ginny, Harry, and Ron leapt up, ready to leave as quickly as possible.

"Aww…but uncle!!" The kids cried as he swept them into his arms.

"No worries! Just tell your mums that they can leave you at the shop anytime I am there! It will help business if I can..." Ginny gave him a piercing glare as he laughed.

"Kidding!" He then hugged his sister whose face softened a bit. Quickly giving the rest of them a proper farewell, he rushed them outside.

"I am so sorry again!" He explained as Ron laughed.

"Don't worry about it; just send us an owl when you are free so I can stop by the shop." He said with a grin. George stood at the doorway, waving, as they disappeared. He then closed his front door, locking it tightly. After a minute or two of standing in pure silence, he plopped onto a chair, pulling out the picture.

"I've been looking for this! Where did they find it?" He asked, watching the two boys laugh and pat each others back. A tear rolled down his face, pulling his hair back so it would not blur his vision more. As he did this, it revealed that his ear had been missing, one characteristic that most of the pictures of the boy on the wall did not have.

"I know I had not mentioned you before to them Fred." He said, now looking at one of the biggest pictures in the room. It was the size of half a wall.

"I guess there would not be a way to realize that most of these are you anyway." He said motioning to his wall filled with frames. He then looked back down to the happy boys.

"But, after all these lonely years, I believe I should have been bragging about you ever since! You would be mad at me if I told you your niece and nephew never knew that they had an Uncle Fred wouldn't you?" He asked the photograph. That feeling in his stomach twisted as he looked to the clock again. He shoved the photo in his pocket, grabbed his wand, and then vanished from his home. He was now in a cemetery, gravestones littered everywhere. As he walked, he noticed fresh flowers on the Lupin's graves, obviously Ted's work. There was a white marble stone, a little bigger than the others beside it. He walked his way there, staring at the words Fred Weasley. George bent down, putting flowers upon it with the flick of his wand. In the middle of it, he put the picture of the two boys, using a spell to keep it from blowing away.

"But I should've told them because you aren't really dead." He said, now smiling at the stone through a tear soaked face.

"Because you live on with me, I may not see you anymore, but you're with me in spirit." He took one last look at the place and then vanished.


End file.
